Posted by
Lananh
13 yrs ago
Hi everyone,
We are moving to Hong Kong in Jan/Feb 2013 from Australia. I have done some research and really like Sai Kung as an area.
Can someone give me a little feedback about it?
We also have two little boys who are going to be 5 and 6 by the time we are in Hong Kong. We are looking for a good school for them, whether it is local or international close by Sai Kung. Any suggestion/recommendation will be greatly appreciated.
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Always a good idea to stay in a serviced apartment for a few months while you look around.
Sai Kung is great but doesn't suit everyone. You might like to go out there in the morning and practice driving to work or taking the bus. How long does it take you? Is the traffic a problem? Don't just go out on the weekend but go out during the mornings or early evenings (returning home time).
While visitng will not replace actual living, it will give a you a better idea than feedback through the forum.
The forum will give excellent advice, but does not replace your experiences. What you like/hate is different to others.
By living in a serviced apartment for a few months, it does not lock you into an area that perhaps does not tick all the boxes.
I live in an a Tsueng Kwan O village., because I could not see myself living in an area with only two roads in and out. One road to Shatin, the other to the uni. If one is blocked, then there is all types of traffic issues.
But, I love visiting Sai Kung and would live there in a flash, if roads and transport were better.
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Thank you Bob the builder
My hubby is going to work in the central (HK business centre) and where we are going to live is very much depends on where our boys go to school. We are very new to this and just doing lots of research as we can. Not much luck with the schools at the moment. Everything is full. :(
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Lananh, have you tried contacting Hong Kong Academy? They are opening a brand new international school right in the centre of Sai Kung ... due to open in August 2013. Applications for places, I believe, started this summer, so you would probably stand a better chance of getting a place with them. Here's their website for information - http://www.hkacademy.edu.hk/page.cfm?p=360
We moved to Sai Kung just over a year ago and love it! We both work on HK Island and find that as long as we leave home early we tend to miss the majority of the rush hour traffic ... being just 10 minutes late makes a hell of a difference!
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vak
13 yrs ago
Too many variables for you to consider before you pinpoint on one place.
Firstly schools are not easy to just walk into. You need to do some research and planning. There are a few choices and you could put the kids into what ever is available till you get them into a school of your choice based on the waiting list.
Sai Kung and Clearwaterbay are both great places. Clearwater bay from Silverstrand all the way to Lobster bay has some lovely villages scattered along the main CWB road and most expat families tend to make play date arrangements for their kids amongst close neighbours. Its a very good community feel.
It also depends on your budget. Rentals are all over the place.
Your personal choice also counts. Saikung is great for people who like to be close to the village markets etc (A bit like Manly in Sydney). Clearwater Bay is more for families into outdoor stuff with beaches/walking trails/running paths all within 5 minutes. Sai Kung is only a 15 minute drive from Clear Water bay. CWB does not have the usual traffic problems associated with SaiKung and weekends in SAIKUNG traffic can be a nightmare. (Specially if you are ferrying kids to and from activities on Hirams Highway).
Our personal choice is CWB as its v convinient to use the PARK and RIDE scheme to go into town and the public transport is also extremely eficient here.
Good luck on the move.
Agree with Bob the builder about checking out the area. One idea would be for you to do a 3 day trip to HK and meet other families if you can and explore the area. A lot of people we know ended up commiting to 1-2 year appt leases in a rush and regretting it as they were shown the wrong kind of over the top properties by unscuplous agents trying to dump slow moving properties.
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Thanks Sapphire. I have contacted HKA and is considering it but they do want $450,000 family debenture once the boys are in. Very expensive but we are considering it. Thanks for the tip about getting in and out of Sai Kung. It is very helpful to know.
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Thanks Vak for such a detail post.
We are very flexible with our living arrangement so we will live close to whichever school the boys ended up with.
As I mentioned in the previous post, my hubby's work will be in the centre so as long as he can get there within 30 mins from where we live that would be an ideal. How long does it takes from
CWB to the business centre by car? If someone could help me out?
I have also called about 20 international schools and they are all full and have a long waiting list except HKA and the Harbour school seemed more positive about getting a place for the boys.
I would really like to sort out the school issue first but it seems very, very hard to get in anywhere decent especially for our boys age group.
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Have you tried Kellett School? They have a primary campus in Pokfulam which no doubt has a long waiting list, but they are also opening a brand new campus, for both primary and secondary, in Kowloon Bay, in August 2013.
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vak
13 yrs ago
schooling priority is based on catchment area , so its a catch 22. If you feel happy about cwb/saikung distt, I would say zero in on that area and even if your are waitlisted for a school of your choice I feel the kids should get into a closeby school within 12 to 18 months. At least you will get a priority due to your home being in the area. many kids here go to schools on the island and if that has to be done for a years or so, you may need to consider it. at ages 5-6 its not a big deal as kids adapt. So long as you are close to the main road like CWB or hirams Highway there are heaps of connections for school buses or other modes of tpt as feeders to the MTR.
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vak - not all schools have catchment areas ... ESF do, yes, but I think you will find that the majority (if not all) of the other international schools do not have catchment areas ... there are kids living on HK Island who attend Australian International School, and kids travelling from all over the island to attend Kellett School in Pokfulam, or their secondary campus, for example, and the same goes with many (or all) of the others ...
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Sapphire, I have contacted Kellett and they are full too. They didnt mention the new campus at all. Do you know anything about the Harbour School? Between HKA, Kellett and Harbour school, which one has a better reputation. I do like small school with small classes.
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Vak I think Sapphire is right. The catchment ares is not important to most schools. When I spoke to them they said they are bus services go everywhere and they are very flexible. There are few that might require us to live close by.
Anyway I think we will go to visit HK shortly for 3-4 days to work it all out. I think it is quite difficult to decide from Australia :-)
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vak
13 yrs ago
get in touch with the Australian Association of HK. They have a wide spectrum of members (many with young families) if you visit HK , it maybe an idea to meet some of the ladies from that group during one of their coffee mornings. They will probably have a few members who came here like you are planning to, and give you a more accurate projection of realistic expectations with the move.
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jgb
13 yrs ago
If you are relocating from Australia and you are Australian, get your kids into the Australian International school so they are in with other Australia kids with like minded culture and can continue there heritage as Aust School does this..ESF is mixed and great schooling but the school year is different from Australia and when you take the children back they are either 6months behind or ahead in the year of when you start.
If your husband is in central it's a long haul from Sai Kung even if you drive and then you are paying for a car park at HKD 3000 approx in central as well plus the traffic all the way in to central.
Make sure if you don't intend to get a car you are on an MTR line, much easier and convenient.
School buses pick up in most areas if you can get them a place.
If you can't get into Aussie school try Anfield as they have a primary school which is only in its second year and very good and small with great teaching staff. My kids went there before getting into Aussie school. Waiting list for Aussie school in long but incoming from Australia and Australian passport holders get preference, put the paperwork in now. Hong Kong is transient so places do come up depending on the year.
If you are visiting make sure you view schools as well of interest this is a must.
Message me if you do come up to view and want to catch up. I've been here for 8 years and have kids at Aussie school 5 &6 also
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You could try local Chinese medium schools and have bilingual kids. Costs virtually nothing, good discipline and no problem with waiting lists. However, at 5 and 6 they may not be able to catch up with the Chinese character learning. Worth considering if you intend making HK your long-term home.
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Thanks Vak. I will sure get in touch with Australia Assocation.
Jgp, the first school we called was the Australian International School but they are full at the moment. Will try Ansfield. Would love to catch up when we are there. Will message you when we know the exact date.
Loyd Grossman, we thought about a local school because I would love the kids to speak fluent Cantonese/Mandarin however at 5 and 6 I think the boys might struggle in a Chinese medium school.
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If they went to the local school, they would probably be able to switch to an international school a few years later - by which time they would be fluent.
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Lanah, sorry, I don't know anything about Harbour School, but Kellett does have an excellent reputation. Here's the link to their new Kowloon Bay campus opening August 2013 ... http://www.kellettschool.com/contentpage.php?workplaceID=79
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Thanks Sapphire. I will look into Kellett again.
Onyxwhisky, look like living in Sai Kung is out of the question then. Would you be able to tell me how long does it take from Sai Kung to the business centre?
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We live close to the country park in Sai Kung and, like cara, we travel to Central via Sai Sha Road, we get there within 40-45mins and no traffic jams on this route!
Sai Kung Town is busy at weekends and getting in/out via Hiram's Highway at certain times can be a pain, but there is an alternative route which isn't a problem. We often go into SK town on Fri/Sat evening for drinks/dinner and we have never had a problem with parking, or getting a table at restaurants without a reservation. However, like most towns, Sat/Sun afternoons are busy, so deciding to pop into town to do a bit of shopping at that time isn't a good idea, although not impossible. But that said, going into Central/CWB/Wanchai/Stanley/etc. on a Sat/Sun afternoon to do anything is also busy/crowded and parking is an absolute nightmare!
Most people tend not to live 'in the town' itself, but just a few minutes away you get peace and quiet.
We love the community feel about the place and the fact that SK has pretty much everything we want, without the need of having to travel over to HK island. Both husband and I work on HK island and we don't have a problem with the commute. And, like cara said, the lifestyle of living in SK is worth the small inconveniences.
Edited just to add ... Actually, the last thing we want to do at the weekend is to 'get out of Sai Kung'. We love nothing more than being able to relax in our home with the BBQ sparked up in the garden, surrounded by beautiful countryside and a view of the sea. And there's nothing more lovely than seeing the little children in our road playing safely on their bicycles, without having to worry about traffic ... kids don't have that option in many places in HK.
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Thanks everyone for your feedback.
We will definitely visit Sai Kung when we are in HK in couple months time.
The most important thing for us is to find the right school.
Cara, you mentioned your son local school that have an English stream. How does it work? Does it mean they teach everything in English and some in Cantonese/Mandarin?
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I Live in Saikung and work in Cyberport, crazy but it's worth it because every time I come home I feel like I'm away from work thus I'm on holiday. Big expat community here too and if you like dogs then it's the place for you. School? Kellett school is opening its new campus in Kowloon Bay in 2013 and it's goings be a state of the art school. I can make an enquiry for you if you like. I agree that staying in a serviced apartment for a while is a good idea because that is what we did. Let me know when you're in HK and I am happy to take you around SaiKung for a taster.
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Thank you Huahin. We have two dogs actually and they are coming to Hong Kong with us so we do need space for them.
How far would it takes from Sai Kung to Kowloon Bay if we were to look at Kellett?
We are likely to be in Hong Kong on October so I will let you know.
Thank you so much to all of you with your valuable advice and assistance. Very much appreciated.
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Is there public transport like train or ferry from Sai Kung to the business centre? Maybe my hubby can use the public transport instead of driving.
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Hi everyone,
A bit of news.
Just found out that hubby's office is going to be in Kowloon Bay and not on the island so this will make it much easier to commute from Sai Kung/CWB with much shorter time I think. Google map told me that it takes approx. 30 mins driving from Sai Kung to Kowloon Bay and 20 mins from CWB to Kowloon Bay. Is this accurate?
We are looking to rent a house/vila so between Sai Kung and Clear Water Bay, which one?
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time to kill this string. moving to HK without securing a school for your kids is like putting the carriage in front of the horse.
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Hi Cara, our budget is up to 75000 per month. Is that reasonable?
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You should be able to find a place in that price range - Sai Kung is now one large building site with legal and illegal houses being built at a rate of knots all over the place.
Two brand new sites being cleared of trees this morning as I walked my dogs.
Roll on the MTR and four lane highway then we can finally rid Sai Kung of its quiet, countryside image.
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Lananh, you'll be able to get a fabulous place in SK or CWB for 75K ... even without it being on, or near, a building site ... Although, wherever you go in HK you'll find building sites/construction work going on. I think Ringo23 is possibly trying to discourage people from coming to the area ... I kind of see where he's coming from ....
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An insiders tip. Do not go anywhere near the Harbour school
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Thanks Sapphire. We are definitely interested in CWB/Sai Kung. Will visit the place when we go to Hong Kong.
Alexandra, did you know something about the Harbour school?
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Thanks Cara and everyone for their input.
I think definitely school first, then a place to live.
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Hi Lannah, I will do a test drive to Kellett Kowloon bay next week as I will be working there when it opens. You'll definitely get a good pace with our budget too! How old are your children again and when exactly do you think you are moving here?
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Huahin, we are moving to HK by Jan/Feb 2013. Our boys will be 5 and 6 by the time we are in HK.
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A little off topic but does anyone know if Sai Kung's Butcher King is still open? really need to get some south african boerewors in a hurry.
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Thanks Cara. How strange. I must have an old phone number because my helper was there around 10 to 12 and it wasn't open and then no answer on the phone. If anyone can give me opening hours and phone number I would really appreciate it.
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There is a great but small international school where my kid studys there since this year: Hong Kong Adventist Academy, but tuition is pretty fair with beautiful campus.
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Butcher King is closed on a Wednesday morning, opens at 12.
"I think Ringo23 is possibly trying to discourage people from coming to the area ..."
Naively so, I suppose, but I'm getting sick of seeing permanently empty houses built onto once good green land. Also sick of seeing the liberties taken with the building of the indigenous villagers houses; so many are illegal, utilising government land or building access roads over gov land and the local DLO are thoroughly inept and/or too corrupt to do anything about it.
But people keep breeding and economies need to grow otherwise apparently we all die and become socialists, so yes, more people, more houses, schools, car parks, roads and Starbucks, please.
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Hi Lannah, email me at keepaneye@me.com see what we can do about school.
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Moving to Sai Kung. Try Kite Packers & Movers (HK) Ltd. I did try them and they are good with price and moving. Call them at 9528 9058.
Goodluck
Michael
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Thanks Huahin and Michael.shroff
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If new to HK, suggest to live in Kowloon in a serviced apartment first, explore different areas in the New Territories (Tai Po, Sai Kung, Yuen Long, Shatin for countryside, everywhere else for city settings). Then check out the details before you nail down on a place. Most of the time, newbies to Sai Kung/Clearwater Bay view the place in lovely weather and get enraptured with the views and settings that they forget to inspect the proper things: the condition of the house, illegal structures, plumbing, sewage, electricity, leak-proof, parking and rights to "garden" spaces. Neighbours with mahjong/karaoke or a history of stirring up trouble (xenophobic or anti-social), or local mafia are things that are missed. Traffic is of course another consideration, especially if you have to stick to a strict 9 a.m.-in-the-office or 9p.m.-conference-call schedules. Having said that, if you have young kids and 1 parent doesn't have to work, or if you work from home, then the environment and fresh air are worth it. Don't hope for anything cheap because if everyone is pin-pointing Sai Kung, then everyone is going to raise their prices! Good luck!
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Sai Kung Rocks, but shh dont tell too many people cs the rents are going up like crazy ;)
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Rents definitely gooing up - however, you get to enjoy fresh air (at least better than the air at the Harbour side), greenery and outdoors. Been in CWB over 16 years - previously born and raised in Canada. Prefer CWB over Sai Kung - less traffic, nearby beaches, hiking trails and closer to the Golf & Country Club. Mostly all residential where SK has mix of commercial, car garages, warehouses, etc on main road. Too much for me. Schools have shuttle buses for a fee for your children. However, places are very tight with influx of people moving into SK/CWB. I would suggest looking at Villas or Low-rise Apartments with security, parking garage, and management - SilverStrand and/or Razor Park areas. The "Village" heads and people in villages sometimes are a headache with parking, their monthly 'mandatory protection fee' - sorry 'Car Park Management Fee', lack of right of way, etc. Also, quite an increase in break-ins recently in villages. Best of luck!!!
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Welcome to Hong Kong, housing in both Sai Kung and Clear Water Bay Road are not bad, suitable for Expatriates who are not used to limited spaces. You will have to pay a bit more for accommodation and the greenery. Your kids can go to a school locally and may learn Chinese too! Have fun and good luck. If you need any advice on hunting for the suitable one, you can post more questions!
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Snid
13 yrs ago
You may want to take a look at the Japanese International School. We are moving to HK in three weeks and interviewed there for our 6 and 8 year old sons. We ultimately decided to go with Harbour School, but it was a close choice based largely on location. We really liked the principal, staff and facilities at JIS. There also was space at the Norwegian school, but we weren't as impressed when we visited. Good luck!
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Hi. I am new to HK and live in Sai Kung. I am looking for a place to do some alterations.
Any ideas??
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ping bird, probably best keep to the original theme of this thread. Have you searched the forum for information that might already have been posted? If you can't find what you're looking for here, start a new thread specifically relating to alterations but you should clarify what kind of alterations you're after, e.g. structural, or sewing alterations (?) and hopefully we can give you ideas relevant to your requirement.
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